Roller washing apparatus



May 29, 1956 c. c. SCHAFER ROLLER WASHING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed June 13. 1951 J67. ATTORNEY IN VEN TOR. CHARLES C. SCHAFER v 1 I Av May 29, 1956 c. c. SCHAFER 2, 7

ROLLER WASHING APPARATUS Filed June 13, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7INVENTOR. CHARLES C SCHAFER ATTOPN EY United States PatentO ROLLERWASHING APPARATUS Charles C. Schafer, Cleveland, Ohio Application June13, 1951, Serial No. 231,307

7 Claims. (Cl. 15-4) The invention relates to apparatus for cleaning orwashing rollers and more particularly to cloth covered rollers used inprinting and the like.

Broadly the invention comprehends the provision of a roller washingapparatus wherein one of the rollers to be washed is driven from a powersource and through surface engagement of this roller with a secondroller the rotation thereof is transmitted to the second roller and inturn from the second roller to a third roller having surface engagementtherewith. The first and third rollers are adapted to be partly immersedin a solvent for the removing of foreign material from the surface ofthe rollers being cleaned through the act of distribution of the solventover the entire external peripheral surface of the rollers throughrotative engagement of the first and third rollers with the secondroller.

Among the principal objects of the invention are the provision of aroller cleaning or washing apparatus that:

1. Is simple and economical of construction and effective in use,

2. Utilizes the rollers to be cleaned through interengagement with oneanother as the means of effecting a cleaning or washing action thereon,

3. Requires solely the driving rotation of one roller to be cleaned toeffect a rotation of the other rollers to be cleaned, and

4. Is readily and easily adaptable to the cleaning or washing of rollersused in the printing trade, be they of recent or older vintage.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings, forming apart of the specification; and in which Fig. 1 is a top elevation partlybroken away view of a roller washing apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly broken away and partlycross-sectionalized view of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 3-3 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 44 ofFig. l; and

Fig. 5 is a top elevation partly broken away and partlycross-sectionalized view of a modified chuck arrangement and modifiedform of roller for use in the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

This roller washing apparatus was devised primarily for the purpose ofproviding an apparatus of simple and economical construction and whichis effective in use to quickly and easily remove foreign material whichbecomes deposited upon the external peripheral surface of printingmachine rollers as a result of their service use.

The apparatus is simple in its makeup in that one of the rollers, suchas a cloth covered roller, used extensively in the printing trade isrotatively driven from A 2,747,208 Patented May 2 1956 a power sourcesuch as an electric motor or the like. The drivingly rotated roller isadapted to have its ex ternal peripheral surface engage the externalperipheral surface of a second roller to be cleaned, and the secondroller is adapted to have its external peripheral surface engage theexternal peripheral surface of a third roller to be cleaned. Whereas thefirst and third rollers are journalled for rotation and are partlyimmersed in a cleaning solution or detergent, the second roller restsupon the first and third rollers for free rotation thereon effective totransmit rotation from the first roller to the third roller and thusprovide for the distribution of the cleaning solution to the entiresurfaces of all three rollers whereby through the frictional engagementof the second roller with the other two rollers a scouring, or rubbing,cleaning action occurs on the surfaces thereof. A positive tensioning ofthe second roller relative to the other two rollers can be provided ifnecessary so that a higher frictional drag is imposed and a positivecleaning action will result.

A variety of different rollers, particularly with regards to the shaft,or hub, thereof can be easily and readily accommodated merely bychanging the chucking means therefor permitting of the driving rotationof the roller to be power driven.

Referring to the drawings for more specific details of the invention 10represents generally a printing roller or the like cleaning or washingapparatus comprising basically a standard 12, an electric motor 14,reduction gearing 16, and a tank or pan 18.

The standard 12 includes a base 20, having members 22 and 24 affixedthereto, member 22 providing an upright plate 26 and member 24 providingupright plates 28 and 30 lying parallel to one another and spaced apartwith plate 28 disposed between plates 26 and 30 and axially spaced apartfrom plate 26 a predetermined distance, the purpose of which willhereinafter appear.

The motor 14 of conventional type adapted to receive its electricalpower from any well known source, not shown, has gearing 16 driven fromthe output thereof with gear 32 of said gearing fixedly secured tooutput shaft 34 of the motor meshing with a proportionally larger gear36.

The gear 36 is in turn fixedly secured upon a shaft 38 journalled uponbearings 40 and 42 mounted in stationary relations respectively upon theplates 28 and 30. A chuck 44 adapted to receive one end of a printingroller, such as a cloth covered roller 46 used in present day printingequipment, is fixedly secured upon the end 48 of shaft 38 opposite fromthe end upon which gear 36 is secured. Whereas the gear 36 is mountedupon one end of shaft 38 extending axially outward beyond plate 30, theend 48 of shaft 38 extending axially beyond plate 28 is directed axiallytoward the plate 26.

A shaft 50 similar to shaft 38 in respect to being journalled uponbearings 52 and 54 mounted in stationary relation respectively on plates28 and 30 and having a chuck 56, identical with chuck 44, fixedlysecured on end 58 thereof, differs therefrom solely in that it has driveconnection directly with the motor.

The plate 26 support one side thereof disposed axially toward the chucks44 and 56 a pair of tailstock members 60 the axis of which lieco-axially respectively to the axes of chucks 44 and 56.

The tailstock members 60 each include a hollow cylinder 62 having aplunger 64 reciprocable therein. having on one end thereof extendingaxially away from the plate 26 a reduced portion 66 adapted to bereceived in a borev v movable relative to cylinder 62 through theprovision of a pin 70 fixed to the plunger and extending radiallythrough a predetermined formed slot 72 formed in the body of cylinder62, thus permitting of the manual movement of the plunger as is requiredto mount or remove the rollers from cleaning position between the chucks44 and 56 and the tailstock members 60.

The cylinder 62 of the tailstock members are rigidly secured relative tothe plates by way of their being set screw fastened to horizontallydisposed and spaced parallel plates 74 welded or otherwise integral withplate 26.

A roller 76 adapted to be supported for cleaning purposes betweentailstock member 60 and chuck 56 is, as shown, identical to roller 46.

The ends of both rollers 46 and 76 each have bores 68 and hubs 78wherein one bore 68 of each roller receives reduced portion 66 of theoperative, plungers 64 therein whereas the hub 78 on the opposite end ofthe rollers 46 and 76 are received in the chucks 44 and 56 with areduced portion 80 of shaft 38 and reduced portion 82 of the shaft 50received respectively in the bores 68 of the rollers 46 and 76 at thisend. As a means of insuring the connecting of the chuck 44 to the rollerto be power driven directly from the motor the peripheral surface of onehub of roller 46 is milled so as to provide a slot 84 within which a pin86 fixed in the chuck 44 is received.

A third roller 88 of the cloth covered type adapted to be cleaned isdisposed in friction contacting relation upon rollers 46 and 76effective to transmit rotation from roller 46 to roller 76. Although itis not essential, the roller 88 as shown being one of a set of rollersof a specific printing equipment consisting of rollers 46, 76, and 88 isof a larger diameter for the purpose of properly mounting same has axialshaft extensions 90 and 92 journalled in the hubs thereof, not shown.

Roller 88 as noted for the purpose of assuring a sufiicient frictioncontact upon the rollers 46 and 76 is tensioned toward said rollers by apair of springs 94, one attached between the respective shaftsextensions 90 and 9 2 and stationary posts 96, one mounted upon each ofthe plates 26 and 28.

As a means of restraining the roller 88 from axial movement the plates26 and 28 are disposed in predetermined axially spaced relation to oneanother so that the extremities of the shaft extensions bear lightlyagainst the respective plates 26 and 28.

The tank 18 is rather shallow and is adapted to contain a cleaningsolvent which the rollers 46 and 76 are adapted to be only partiallyimmersed in the solvent for the cleaning thereof. A drain cock 97 isprovided so as to permit of ease in the cleaning and removing thesolvent from the tank as may be necessary.

Fig. illustrates a modified form of tailstock member 98 and chuck 100adapted for use in the apparatus of Figs. 1 through 4 for supporting amodified form of roller 102 from that of 46 and 76 wherein one hub 104of the roller 102 is received in a chuck 106 supported for movement on astationary shaft 108 wherein a set screw 110 is adapted to secure orpermit of the axial movement of chuck 106 on shaft 108. Chuck 100 whichis driven directly from a rotative power source is adapted to receivethe hub 112 of roller 102 includes a pin, or key, 114 adapted to fit aslot 116 in roller 102 and thus insure the rotation of the rollersimultaneously with chuck 100.

In a normal operational use of the washing apparatus 10, the rollers 46and 76 are first mounted between the respective sets of tailstockmembers and chucks by retracting the plungers 64 axially into theircylinders by the movement of pins 70 in slots 72 provided in thecylinder permitting of the slipping of the hubs 78 of rollers 46 and 76into the respective chucks 44 and 56 with the slot 84 in the hub 78 ofroller 46 receiving key or pin 86 so as to lock the roller 46 to thechuck 44 for simultaneous rotation therewith. With the hubs 78 of therollers 46 and 76 received in the respective chucks 44 and 56 theplungers are moved axially out of their cylinders so as to project thereduced portions 66 of the plungers into the bore 68 of the roller withwhich it is adapted to be associated. In their mounted positions betweenthe chucks and tailstock members, the rollers are partially immersed inthe cleaning solution contained in the tank 18 and roller 88 is nextnestled in a position lying upon the rollers 46 and 76 in parallel arraythereto with its outer surface in frictional contacting relation to theouter surface of the other rollers. As a means of insuring a slightpressure between the surfaces of the rollers 46 and 76, and roller 88the springs are secured between posts 96 and the shaft extensions and92.

With the rollers so mounted the motor 14 is started resulting in adirect rotation of roller 46 by way of reduction gearing l6 and thesplined relation of the roller 46 and chuck 44 secured to shaft 48. Therotation of roller 46 is transmitted to roller 88 by way of thefrictional contact of the surfaces thereof which rotation is thentransmitted by roller 38 to roller 76 through frictional contact betweentheir engaging surfaces. As the rollers 46 and 76 rotate in the cleaningsolution they serve to carry the solution along on their peripheralsurfaces and thus provide for the conveyance thereof to the roller 88whereby as the surfaces of the rollers 46 and 76 move frictionally inengagement with roller 88 a slight scrubbing, or cleaning action occursresulting in an easy, quick, and effective washing of the rollers.

For the purpose of insuring that the rollers will remain mounted as theyare rotated the roller 46 has a clockwise rotation imparted thereto sothat the plungers 64 are locked against axial movement by way of pins 70acting against the one end of slots 72.

After the rollers are thoroughly washed the motor is stopped and by wayof removing the roller 88 from on top of the rollers 46 and 76 and byretracting the plungers 64 the rollers are removed from mounted positionin the apparatus thereby making the apparatus ready for another set ofrollers to be cleaned.

Although this cleaning apparatus is directed specifically at the washingof rollers of specific character and structure it is susceptible ofmodification by those skilled in the art without departing from thebasic structural features disclosed and accordingly is to be limitedonly to the extent evidenced by the appended claims.

What Iclaim is:

1. A roller washing apparatus comprising means for rotatably mounting aroller to be washed, means for rotatably mounting a second roller to beWashed in parallel spaced relation to the first roller to be washed withthe axis of said first and second rollers lying substantially in ahorizontal plane, means for drivingly rotating one of the first tworollers and a third roller rotatably mounted in parallel surfaceengaging relation upon the first and second mounted rollers providingfor the rotation of the third roller as engaged by the drivingly rotatedroller, and for transmitting rotation of the drivingly rotated roller tothe one of the first two rollers which .is not drivingly rotated, saidmeans for mounting the first and second rollers, each including a chuckfor supporting one end of the roller and an axially movable tail stockmember for supporting the other end of the roller.

2. A roller washing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein one of thechucks in addition to supporting the one end of the roller is splinedthereto and wherein the means for drivingly rotating one of the rollersto be washed has its output connected to the chuck splined to the oneend of the roller associated therewith.

3. A roller washing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the chucksare journalled for rotation.

4. A roller washing apparatus according to claim 3 wherein a stand isprovided including a base and a plurality of parallel uprights and wherethe tailstock members are mounted on one of the uprights and the chucksjournalled on another upright.

5. A roller washing apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the means fordrivingly rotating one of the rollers includes an electric motor mountedon the base and reduction gearing interconnected intermediate the outputof the motor and one of the chucks and wherein a tank adapted to containa cleaning solution is mounted on the base between the uprights with aportion of the first and second mounted rollers extending into the tank.

6. A roller washing apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the thirdroller is a roller to be washed and wherein the chuck connected to thereduction gearing is splined to the one end of the roller which itsupports.

7. A roller washing apparatus comprising means for rotatably mounting aroller to be washed, means for rotatably mounting a second roller to bewashed in parallel spaced relation to the first roller to be washed withthe axis of said first and second rollers lying substantially in ahorizontal plane, means for drivingly rotating one of the rollers and athird roller rotatably mounted in parallel surface engaging relationupon the first and second 7 References Cited in the file of this patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 67,293 Gransden July 30, 1867 1,002,322 SagueSept. 5, 1911 2,027,407 Von Webern Jan. 14, 1936 2,277,724 Smith Mar.31, 1942 2,291,991 Spraker Aug. 4, 1942

